The Walking Dead Season 4, Episode 4 Preview: Indifference

At this point in The Walking Dead, these survivors might consider seeking out someone with experience in holistic medicine rather than trying to track down the last remaining antibiotics in existence. The fact that they’re still dependent on remnants of the old way of life is one of the reasons I feel that sense of hopelessness begin to set in at one point or another during any given episode of The Walking Dead. I don’t have the slightest idea how to make penicillin or amoxicillin or azithromycin, does anyone else? Because if not, then maybe we need to start coming up with more practical solutions than raiding old buildings full of zombies.

I don't even know if the reliance on pre-apocalypse resources is a critique on the show, as it may be a necessary conflict. But by the fourth season, I wouldn't hate it if they stopped turning back to that and we started seeing the characters look forward for solutions instead of backward. Sooner or later, there won't be any pills left. Or any bullets for that matter.

The above preview for next week’s episode (“Indifference”) doesn’t indicate that anyone’s thinking of starting an herb garden, and both preview clips focus on characters raiding buildings for medicine. So it seems Plan A is still in effect. But hopefully Hershel’s elderberry collection will inspire someone to start looking into natural remedies.

In the meantime, it looks like Rick and Carol have teamed up to do some searching of their own.

Was Carol’s lack of reaction to the falling walker the titular “indifference”? Is she giving up hope? Or perhaps she’s being eaten alive by guilt over killing Karen and the other guy. Or maybe she’s just tired. Who knows?

The other sneak peek at the episode shows Daryl, Michonne, Bob and Tyreese on their own foraging mission:

Of the two groups, it seems more likely that this one has a better shot of coming up with enough pills to actually cure everyone. It’s not like one anti-biotic a piece is going to nip this flu in the bud. They need a pharmacy. And they also need to get back to the prison in one piece, which could prove to be a real challenge when we consider the zombie-Woodstock they stumbled upon. Meanwhile, how many more people will get sick before this flu situation is cleared up?